Optofluidic photobioreactor apparatus, method, and applications

ABSTRACT

An optofluidic photoreactor including an optical waveguide having an input, characterized by an evanescent optical field confined along an outer surface of the optical waveguide produced by radiation propagating in the optical waveguide, means for inputting light to the input of the optical waveguide, and a photoactive material disposed substantially only within the evanescent field. A method for optically activating a photoactive material in an optofluidic photoreactor to convert carbon dioxide and water into other molecules that may be useful as a fuel or a chemical feedstock.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No.13/885,478 filed on Jul. 30, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,518,248, which isa US National Phase filing of International Application No.PCT/US2011/060557 filed Nov. 14, 2011 which itself derives priority fromU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/413,685 filed on Nov.15, 2010, the contents of which are relied upon and incorporated hereinby reference in their entireties.

GOVERNMENT SPONSORSHIP

N/A.

BACKGROUND

Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to photoreactors andassociated photoreaction methods and applications. More particularly,embodiments of the invention are directed to optofluidic photoreactorapparatuses and associated methods and applications, in which light isdelivered to photoactive materials to perform chemical reactions thatconvert carbon dioxide and water into other molecules that may be usefulas fuels or chemical feedstocks, e.g., a photosynthetically-activeentity (e.g., bacteria, algae, or other photosynthetic microorganism) orany photoactive element, including photocatalysts, that can perform theconversion of carbon dioxide and water using optical energy, through theevanescent radiation field from the surface of a waveguide upon whichthe photoactive material is disposed. Non-limiting embodied applicationsof the invention pertain to the delivery of said evanescent radiation tosaid photoactive material to directly or indirectly produce fuels,chemicals, and/or biomass such as, but not limited to, algae, carbonmonoxide and hydrogen, and liquid and gas hydrocarbon molecules that canfunction as, or be further processed to produce chemicals such as, butnot limited to, fuel.

Technical Background

The conversion of solar energy to fuel through the cultivation ofphotosynthetic algae and cyanobacteria relies critically on lightdelivery to microorganisms. Conventional direct irradiation of a bulksuspension leads to nonuniform light distribution within a stronglyabsorbing culture, and related inefficiencies.

Growing concern over global climate change and the rising cost of fossilfuels has led to substantial investment and research into alternativefuel sources. For this reason, bioenergy approaches have been developedto produce fuels such as ethanol, methanol, hydrogen and diesel. Inorder to compete with fossil fuels, however, producing biofuels requirelarge feedstock volumes of inexpensive biomass. Although many feedstockshave been explored, including used cooking oil, food crops, andbiowastes, most suffer from low net energy benefit, poor energy density,large footprint requirements and/or insufficient availability.Alternatively, microalgae, which exhibit high growth rates and oilcontent compared to higher plants and have and have the ability to growin a range of diverse environments, have been used to produce biofuels.In particular, cyanobacteria use solar energy to convert carbon dioxideand water into biofuel, making possible a near carbon neutralpetrochemical alternative.

Cost-effective biofuel production from cyanobacteria is directly linkedto the density of cultures within a photobioreactor and its overallvolume. Currently, the simplest strategy for cultivation of largevolumes of microalgae is an open racetrack-style pond exposed to ambientair and sunlight. However, due to issues related to insufficient lightdistribution, temperature control, nutrient delivery, contamination, andwater consumption, pond operations run at low cell densities. As aresult, pond strategies suffer from poor areal productivity and lowoverall power density. Consequently, fully enclosed photobioreactorshave been designed to provide precise control over the cultivationenvironment and maintain growth conditions. However, a central problemcommon to both open and closed cultivation strategies remains theefficient delivery of light to the microorganisms. As cultures increasein both volume and density, it becomes increasingly difficult for lightto be distributed evenly to the individual bacteria. In currentreactors, areas near the exposed surface tend to be overexposed,resulting in photoinhibition, and large interior regions are effectivelyin darkness. Flowing, dilute solutions must be employed to circulatebacteria through regions with productive light levels, placing afundamental limit on culture density and overall power density of thistechnology.

A variety of photobioreactor strategies have been developed to providemore effective light distribution to cells by spatially diluting thelight over a larger surface area. One strategy is to use light guides tochannel light into the reactor volume and subsequently scatter the lightinto the media. Our reported approach employed cylindrical glass lightdistributors inserted into a culture tank to assist in distributinglight. Sunlight harvested from arrays of Fresnel lenses was channeled tothe reactor via optical fiber. Another reported approach used side-litoptical fibers inserted into the culture tank to improve light delivery.Another used optical fibers inserted into the culture chambers with thegoal of scattering light collected from external solar collectors intothe culture. Although these early studies indicate that increasingcontrol and irradiated surface area within a photobioreactor can improveproductivity, these technologies do not escape the fundamentallimitation posed by the overexposure and shadowing issues accompanyingdirect irradiation of bulk cultures.

An evanescent field is a nearfield standing wave having an intensitythat exhibits exponential decay with distance from the boundary at whichthe wave was formed. Evanescent waves are formed when waves traveling ina medium (e.g., an optical waveguide) via total internal reflectionstrike the boundary at an angle greater than the critical angle.Evanescent field phenomena are well known in the art.

In view of the problems and shortcomings identified above and known inthe art, the embodied invention provides solutions and advantageousapproaches that will benefit and advance the state of the art in thisand related technologies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the invention is directed to an optofluidicphotobioreactor. The bioreactor includes an optical waveguide having aninput, characterized by an evanescent optical field confined along anouter surface of the optical waveguide that is produced by radiationpropagating in the optical waveguide, and a selected photosyntheticmicroorganism disposed substantially within the evanescent field. Aswill be more fully understood from the detailed description below, theevanescent field advantageously extends from the waveguide for adistance on the order of the thickness (i.e., minor diameter) of thephotosynthetic microorganism that is being irradiated by the evanescentfield, thus the microorganism will be understood to be disposedsubstantially within the evanescent field. According to variousnon-limiting, exemplary aspects:

the optical waveguide is an unclad optical fiber having a diameter, d,where 10 μm≤d≤100 μm, and an input end;

the optical waveguide is a multi-mode optical fiber;

the photobioreactor further includes two or more optical waveguidesdisposed in a side-by-side array configuration and having acenter-to-center intra-waveguide separation, D, where d≤D≤1.5 d;

the photobioreactor further includes a photobioreactor enclosure havingan input and an output, inside of which the two or more opticalwaveguides are disposed, wherein the photobioreactor enclosure ischaracterized by a plurality of optically-dark fluid channels created bya void space surrounding the plurality of optical waveguides;

the optical waveguide further comprises a prism waveguide;

the photobioreactor further includes means for inputting light to theinput of the optical waveguide;

the means for inputting light to the input of the optical waveguidecomprises a laser output directly input to a prism waveguide;

the means for inputting light to the input of the optical waveguidecomprises solar radiation channeled to the input of the opticalwaveguide;

the photobioreactor includes a liquid microorganism-nutrient mediadisposed in a void space of the photobioreactor;

the photobioreactor includes a controller operably connected to thephotobioreactor enclosure;

the photosynthetic microorganism is at least one of a bacterium andalgae;

the photosynthetic microorganism is a cyanobacterium;

the cyanobacterium is Synechococcus;

the cyanobacterium is Synechococcus elongatus;

the photosynthetic microorganism is a genetically-engineered, directbiofuel-producing microorganism;

the photobioreactor includes a microfluidic chip in or on which aplurality of the optical waveguides are disposed;

the microfluidic chip is in the form of a high aspect ratio (thin)sheet;

the high aspect ratio (thin) sheet is corrugated;

the optical waveguide is a sheet waveguide;

the sheet waveguide is corrugated;

the selected photosynthetic microorganism is in the form of an adsorbedsingle layer of the microorganism;

the photobioreactor includes an artificial adhesive disposedintermediate the outer surface of the waveguide and the selectedphotosynthetic microorganism such that the microorganism is purposefullyadhered to the outer surface of the waveguide.

An embodiment of the invention is directed to a method for opticallyexciting a photosynthetic microorganism for generating a biofuel, abiofuel pre-cursor, or a biomass from the optically-excitedphotosynthetic microorganism. The method include the steps of providingan optical waveguide having an outer surface; inputting opticalradiation to the optical waveguide; propagating the optical radiation inthe optical waveguide; generating an evanescent optical field adjacentthe outer surface of the optical waveguide from the optical radiationpropagating in the optical waveguide; providing a photosyntheticmicroorganism within the evanescent optical field of the opticalwaveguide; and driving photosynthesis in the microorganism byirradiating at least a portion of a thylakoid membrane of thephotosynthetic microorganism with the evanescent optical field.According to various non-limiting, exemplary aspects:

the step of providing an optical waveguide further comprises providing aprism waveguide;

the step of inputting optical radiation to the optical waveguide furthercomprises directly injecting light from a laser into a prism waveguidein a manner to propagate the light by total internal reflection;

injecting light in a wavelength range 600 nm<λ<700 nm;

the step of providing a photosynthetic microorganism within theevanescent optical field of the optical waveguide further comprisesproviding the photosynthetic microorganism adjacent the outer surface ofthe optical waveguide in a region extending not more than about fivemicrons (5 μm) from the outer surface of the optical waveguide;

the step of providing a photosynthetic microorganism within theevanescent optical field of the optical waveguide further comprisesproviding an adsorbed layer of the microorganism on the outer surface ofthe optical waveguide;

providing a plurality of the optical waveguides disposed in aside-by-side array configuration;

providing a photobioreactor enclosure having an input and an output,inside of which a plurality of optical waveguides are disposed, whereinthe photobioreactor enclosure is characterized by a plurality ofoptically-dark fluid channels created by a void space surrounding theplurality of optical waveguides;

providing a microorganism nutrient media in the plurality ofoptically-dark fluid channels; and

harvesting a biofuel, a biofuel pre-cursor, or a biomass from thephotobioreactor;

the step of providing a photosynthetic microorganism further comprisesproviding a free-floating microorganism media within a photobioreactorenclosure;

inputting solar optical radiation to the optical waveguide;

providing a controller and controlling a parameter of the opticalradiation input to the optical waveguide;

providing a suitable photosynthetic microorganism and directlyharvesting a biofuel from the photobioreactor;

providing a suitable photosynthetic microorganism and harvesting abiofuel precursor from the photobioreactor;

providing a suitable photosynthetic microorganism and harvesting abiomass from the photobioreactor.

An aspect of the invention is directed to an optofluidic photoreactor.In a particular embodiment the photoreactor includes a photoreactorenclosure having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet; a plurality ofoptical waveguides disposed in a spaced relationship in the photoreactorenclosure, each optical waveguide having an optical input andcharacterized by an evanescent optical field confined along an outersurface of each optical waveguide produced by input radiationpropagating in said each optical waveguide; a plurality of fluidicreaction channels formed of the regions intermediate the plurality ofoptical waveguides disposed in spaced relationship in the enclosureadapted to transport a photoactive reagent; and a photoactive materialdisposed substantially only within the evanescent field of each opticalwaveguide. In various non-limiting embodiments, the photoreactor mayfurther include some or all of the following limitations, features,characteristics alone or in various combinations.

wherein the optical waveguides are unclad optical fibers;

wherein the optical waveguides have an irregular shape;

wherein the optical waveguides are multi-mode optical fibers or rods;

wherein the plurality of fluidic reaction channels are optically-dark inthe absence of said evanescent fields;

wherein the optical waveguides comprise prism waveguides;

wherein the optical input is one of a laser and an LED light input;

wherein the optical input is a solar radiation input;

further comprising a controller operably connected to the photoreactorenclosure;

wherein the optical waveguides are sheet/slab waveguides;

wherein the optical waveguides further comprise light scatteringcharacteristics including at least one of a deposited material, aprinted or lithographic pattern, and a mechanically or chemically etchedsurface;

wherein the photoactive reagent comprises carbon dioxide and water, inliquid and/or gaseous phases;

wherein the photoactive material is any material that can perform theconversion of carbon dioxide and water into at least one carbonmonoxide, hydrogen, methane, methanol, formic acid, formaldehyde,ethanol, and larger hydrocarbons including at least one of butane,heptane and octane using optical energy;

wherein the photoactive material is a thin film of a photocatalyst;

wherein the photoactive material is a nanoparticle catalyst.

An embodiment of the invention is a method to optically activate aphotoactive material in a photoreactor to convert carbon dioxide andwater into another molecule that may be useful as a fuel or a chemicalfeedstock. In an exemplary embodiment the method includes the steps ofproviding a photoreactor that includes a photoreactor enclosure having afluid inlet and a fluid outlet; a plurality of optical waveguidesdisposed in a spaced relationship in the photoreactor enclosure, eachoptical waveguide having an optical input and characterized by anevanescent optical field confined along an outer surface of each opticalwaveguide produced by input radiation propagating in said each opticalwaveguide; a plurality of fluidic reaction channels formed of theregions intermediate the plurality of optical waveguides disposed inspaced relationship in the enclosure adapted to transport a photoactivereagent; and a photoactive material disposed substantially only withinthe evanescent field of each optical waveguide; providing thephotoactive reagent including carbon dioxide and water, in liquid and/orgaseous phases, in the fluidic reaction channels; and inputting lighthaving a wavelength at which the photoactive material is sensitive toinduce a conversion of the photoactive reagent into at least one ofcarbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane, methanol, formic acid, formaldehyde,ethanol, and larger hydrocarbons including at least one of butane,heptane and octane.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe detailed description that follows, and in part will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from that description or recognizedby practicing the invention as described herein according to thedetailed description which follows, the claims, as well as the appendeddrawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are merely exemplary of theinvention, and are intended to provide an overview or framework forunderstanding the nature and character of the invention as it isclaimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodimentsof the invention, and together with the description serve to explain theprinciples and operation of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates in perspective view an array of opticalwaveguides in the form of unclad optical fibers and a layer of algaedisposed on the outer surface of each of the fibers, according to anillustrative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic overview of a photobioreactor system utilizing thearray of optical waveguides shown in FIG. 1, according to anillustrative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view in cross section showing the evanescent fieldgenerated from an optical waveguide as illustrated in FIG. 1 and aSynechococcus elongatus cyanobacterium (algae) disposed on the surfaceof the waveguide being irradiated by the evanescent field, according toan illustrative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic top view of the photobioreactor enclosurecontaining the array of optical fibers with adsorbed photosyntheticbacteria and the dark or void regions (fluid channels) where theevanescent field does not penetrate, according to an illustrativeembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a photo of a bench-top optical fiber-based photobioreactoraccording to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 6A, 6B illustrates excitation process and apparatus forphotosynthetic bacteria with an evanescent light field; FIG. 6A aschematic cross sectional illustration showing evanescent coupling of aphotosynthetic bacterium on the surface of a waveguide. Thecharacteristic decay of the light intensity, as plotted at the right ofthe figure, is on the order of the cell minor diameter size; FIG. 6B aschematic illustration of an experimental setup to generate theevanescent wave at the surface of a prism optical waveguide. The inputbeam is Gaussian and the evanescent field resulting from total internalreflection is elliptical in shape, as shown;

FIG. 7A: image of cyanobacteria growth pattern resulting from directirradiation, showing distinct regions of photoinhibition (centre),growth, surrounded by negligible growth; FIG. 7B: plot correlatingradial growth intensity to laser light intensity. Outlying peaks beyond1.2 mm are artifacts of the imaging setup and do not correspond togrowth. FWHM thresholds on the growth region correspond to radiant lightintensities of 66 W/m² and 12 W/m², shown as upper and lower bounds,respectively, according to illustrative aspects of the invention;

FIG. 8 graphically shows a spectral power distribution of daylight andan absorption spectrum of PSII plotted with measured absorbance of theS. elongatus culture. The photoinhibition threshold at λ=633 nn measuredfrom experiments in FIG. 7 (66 W/m²) correlates to establishedphotoinhibition intensities of white light exposure, when relatedthrough the absorption spectrum shown, according to an illustrativeaspect of the invention;

FIGS. 9A, 9B illustrates the theoretical light intensity distribution inthe evanescent light field, and corresponding predicted growth patterns:FIG. 9A: plot of the penetration depth as a function of incident laserangle for a glass-media interface. Penetration depth is defined as thelocation where field intensity drops e⁻², or 87%, from that at thesurface. The dashed line indicates a penetration depth of 1 μm occurringat θ_(i2)=θ_(C)+0.074°, and the geometry of S. elongatus is shown insetfor reference; FIG. 9B: surface plot of evanescent field, 1 μm from thesurface, with power intensity plotted to indicate the photoinhibited,growth, and negligible-growth regions, based on thresholds measured forradiant light. Based on these values an elliptical ring pattern ofgrowth is predicted, as shown by the useful portion of the powerspectrum shown in (green) shaded region 2. The vertical line plotindicates the useful light intensity decay with distance, according toillustrative aspects of the invention;

FIGS. 10A-10F illustrates the growth of photosynthetic bacteria usingevanescent light: FIGS. 10A-10C: Images of cyanobacteria growth patternsresulting from evanescent excitation at the glass-media interface forincident light powers of 1 mW, 0.5 mW, and 0.25 mW, respectively. Theelliptical growth patterns correspond to the evanescent field geometry,and show distinct regions of photoinhibition (centre), and growth,surrounded by negligible growth; FIGS. 10D-10F: Corresponding growthprofiles for each light power with the corresponding evanescent fieldintensities plotted at the surface, 1 μm above the surface, and as a 5μm average. The power range determined from the direct radiationexperiments (FIG. 7B) is shown by the red band for reference. Thefull-width at half maximum indicating growth onset is observed at 1 μmintensity levels of 79±10 W/m², and observed at 60±8 W/m² for the 5 μmaverage light intensity. These values bracket the 66 W/m² thresholddetermined for radiant light at this wavelength, according toillustrative aspects of the invention.

FIG. 11A is a schematic cross sectional view of a sheet/slab waveguidephotoreactor enclosure; FIG. 11B is a schematic cross sectional viewthrough section A-A of FIG. 11A showing a plurality of stackedsheet/slab waveguides and in detail B, thin film photoactive materialdeposited on the outer surfaces of the waveguides, the fluidic channelsbetween the stacked waveguides, and the location of the evanescent fieldemanating from the surfaces of each waveguide; FIG. 11C is a schematicperspective view of a stacked sheet/slab waveguide optofluidicphotoreactor, according to exemplary aspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the present exemplaryembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates in perspective view an array of opticalwaveguides 100 in the form of unclad optical fibers 101 having adiameter, d, where 10 μm≤d≤100 μm, and a single layer of algae 151disposed on the outer surface of each of the fibers. By propagatinglight in the optical fibers, an exponentially decaying optical field(referred to as an evanescent field) 303 is created over the surface ofthe optical fiber. FIG. 3 is a schematic view in cross section showingthe evanescent field 303, and a Synechococcus elongatus cyanobacterium(algae) 351 adsorbed on the surface 107 of the waveguide 101 beingirradiated by the evanescent field. In a non-limiting alternativeaspect, the bacteria may be artificially attached to the waveguidesurface with a suitable adhesive material.

FIG. 2 illustrates a photobioreactor system 200 in which solar radiationis collected (202) and coupled into the optical fibers than run throughthe reactor volume in a reactor enclosure 207. The photosyntheticmechanics of the cyanobacteria is contained in the thylakoid membranes(˜100 nm) that surround the cyanobacteria, as illustrated in the inset212. The evanescent field extends up to about 1 μm from the unclad fibersurface (FIG. 3) and provides the proper light intensity, I_(O) (see214, FIG. 2), to the bacteria. Due to the exponential decay of theevanescent field, as illustrated by the graph inset 214, a dark region218 occurs in the interstitial space between the fibers, which serve asfluid channels (see also FIG. 4). These fluid channels can be used fortransport of CO₂ and media to the bacteria, and for the collection ofproduced biofuel. The use of the evanescent field allows for the optimumutilization of light by the bacteria and for enhanced volume utilizationfor the reactor as a whole.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic top view of the photobioreactor enclosure 207containing the array of optical fibers 101 with adsorbed photosyntheticbacteria 151 and the dark or void regions (fluid channels) 218 where theevanescent field 303 does not penetrate. The fibers have acenter-to-center intra-waveguide separation, D, where d≤D≤1.5 d.

FIG. 2 further illustrates a control component 237 that enablesparameters including, but not limited to, wavelength, intensity, andduty cycle of light in the fibers to be tuned with precision such thatthe bacteria are optimally exposed.

For the direct conversion of CO₂ to biofuel, genetically modified S.elongatus SA665, produced at UCLA, has shown the ability to directlyconvert CO₂ to isobutyraldehyde, which may be converted to isobutanol (agasoline substitute), at area-wise efficiencies comparable or greater tocurrent biofuel production strategies.

An estimate of achievable density for the illustrated optofluidicbioreactor architecture is useful for comparison with current systems. Ahexagonal packing of the optical fibers as shown in FIG. 4 would providean absorbed layer of fuel producing Synechococcus Elongatus occupying10% of the total volume, while the remaining 90% of the volume isrequired for optics and fluid. A density of 10% active bacteria byreactor volume is 4500-fold greater than demonstrated tubephotobioreactors known in the art and eight orders of magnitude greaterthan that of a comparable pond reactor. This scaling suggests that theoutput of a one-story 5680 m² tube facility could be matched by atable-sized (2.5 m³) optofluidic reactor 500-1 according to the embodiedinvention as shown in FIG. 5. While such a reactor would require aseparate photocollector and associated irradiated area, the separationof reactor with collection additionally offers the ability to tailor thelight spectrum to the photosynthetically active range (400-700 nm);cycle light at an optimal frequency for photosynthetic activity(typically 100 Hz); collect incident solar light at high angles asrequired outside of equatorial regions; and control the reactortemperature making operation feasible in colder climates where fueldemand is high, such as North America and Europe.

Detailed Exemplary Embodiment

According to another exemplary embodiment and aspects thereof, FIGS. 6Aand 6B, respectively, illustrate the evanescent excitation process 600-1of a bacterium 651 and a prism waveguide-based photobioreactor 600-2used to generate the evanescent excitation field 303. As moreparticularly illustrated in FIG. 6B, a prism waveguide 627 is shown incross section. Monochromatic red (λ=633 nm) light 606 provided by a HeNelaser 605 is directly injected into the side of the prism waveguide. Theevanescent field 303 is generated at the interface surface 617 of aglass slide 642 where the light is totally internally reflected. Totalinternal reflection, and the corresponding evanescent field, result whenthe light is incident at the glass-media interface at angles greaterthan the critical angle; i.e., θ_(i2)>θ_(c). Reflecting a circularcross-section input beam creates an elliptical evanescent field profileon the prism surface at the point of reflection, as shown in the inset653 in FIG. 6B. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatthere are alternative ways to generate an evanescent field; however, theillustrated approach is simple and provides an evanescent light fielddistribution that can be reliably described with theory in all threedimensions.

In the experimental set-up of FIG. 6B, cavities to contain a bacteriaculture solution were fabricated by moulding PDMS (Sylgard® 184Elastomer Kit, Dow Corning) around a poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA)master to create cylindrical cavities 10 mm in diameter and 4.75 mm deep(0.373 mL). These culture cavities were bonded to the surface of a 1 mmthick BK7 glass microscope slide using oxygen plasma treatment.

Cells of the wild type S. elongatus (ATCC 33912) cyanobacteria were usedto demonstrate the embodied invention. Cells were cultured under optimalconditions of 32-36° C. and under continuous irradiation of 50-75μE·m⁻²·s⁻¹ using fluorescent lamps. The stock culture was kept at aconstant cell density (in the exponential growth phase) by regularlydiluting the culture with fresh BG11 cyanobacteria growth medium (SigmaAldrich C3061) to maintain a constant optical density of 0.2 at 750 nm(OD₇₅₀). The OD₇₅₀ was determined using a broad spectrum halogen lightsource (Thorlabs OSL1) and spectrometer (Edmond brc112e) and normalizedto the OD₇₅₀ of fresh BG11 growth media. Samples of this culture wereused in our experiments.

Once mounted to the glass plates and inoculated (dead end filling viasyringe injection), the cultures were placed on the top faces of rightangle BK7 prisms (Thorlabs PS908L-A), as shown in FIG. 6. Opticalcontact was achieved using an index matched immersion oil (Leica 11513859). Light was coupled to the chamber from a helium neon laser (632.8nm Thorlabs HRR020) directed toward the prism by reflecting it off abroadband dielectric mirror (Thorlabs CM1-4E; not shown) mounted to aprecision rotation mount (Thorlabs CRM1P; not shown). The incident angleat the glass media interface was adjusted by changing the angle of themirror in the rotation mount. The prism/culture assembly was mounted toa sliding stage (not shown), which allowed the laser beam to bemaintained in the center of the culture chamber as the angle ofincidence was varied. The prism assembly was aligned such that thereflection of the beam leaving the prism did not pass through theculture. This ensured that optical excitation of the bacteria was solelydue to the evanescent field where the beam was totally internallyreflected at the glass-bacteria culture interface.

Laser beam power into and out of the prism was measured using aphotodiode power sensor (Thorlabs S120C) and measured once at thebeginning of the experiment and once at the end. The entire experimentalapparatus was optically isolated in enclosures made from 5 mm thickhardboard (Thorlabs TB4). These chambers were kept at a constanttemperature of 32-36° C. for optimal cell growth rates for the durationof the evanescent growth experiments using a 950 W enclosure fan heater(CR030599, OMEGA Engineering Inc., USA).

Experimental Results and Discussion

Cell cultures were first placed under direct laser light exposure, toestablish the effectiveness of using monochromatic red (λ=633 nm) atgrowing S. elongatus, and measure cell response to direct radiationlight. The beam from a Helium-Neon (HeNe) laser was passed through aculture cavity perpendicular the bottom glass slide (FIG. 6B) and theculture was left to grow for 72 hours (under conditions describedabove). This type of direct irradiation experiment was done for variouslaser powers, yielding consistent results to those shown in FIG. 7. FIG.7A shows a typical growth ring pattern 700-1, where the effect on growthfrom the three distinct intensity regions 712 (center), 714 (mid), 716(outer) is evident as shown. There is a bleached (yellowish orange incolor view) region 712 in the center, a growth region 714 (green incolor view) and a negligible growth outer region 716. To quantify growthin a radial profile, the image was filtered for green intensity andintegrated in circumference. The resulting radial growth profile isplotted with the laser intensity profile in FIG. 7B. The thresholdelectric field intensities (low and high) between regions weredetermined from the intersection of the full width at half the maximum(FWHM) growth locations and the incident light power profile. Theresulting threshold values of 66 W/m² and 12 W/m² (shown in FIG. 7B bythe rectangle within the growth peak) indicate the productive growthintensities of S. elongatus under direct irradiation at λ=633 nm.

Relating these direct irradiation experiment results to known growthcharacteristics of S. elongatus requires determining the daylightequivalent power of red light at λ=633 nm. To do so, we comparedradiometric measurements of daylight to optimal intensity rangespublished in literature. At high light intensities, the rate ofradiation induced damage to the cell's photosystems exceeds the cell'sability to repair itself and the result is a sharp decrease inphotosynthetic activity, or photoinhibition. High light conditions thatapproach saturating intensities are reported as a Photosynthetic PhotonFlux Density (PPFD) on the order of 150 μE·m⁻²·s⁻¹ to 500 μE·m⁻²·s⁻¹ inthe Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) wavelength range (400-700nm), or 10%-25% of full daylight. To convert the photosynthetic photonflux density to radiometric units (i.e. W/m²), the optical power of fulldaylight was measured at 635 nm to be 1.37 W/m² (48°25′43″ N, 123°21′56″W). The spectral power distribution of normal daylight 806 was thencalculated from this set point and the relative spectral powerdistribution defined by CIE Standard Illuminant D65, as shown in FIG. 8.Total full daylight irradiance of photosynthetically active radiationwas calculated to be 472 W/m², which corresponds to a photosyntheticphoton flux density of 2137 μE·m⁻²·s⁻¹. This value was independentlyconfirmed by a QSR-2100 (Biospherical Instruments Inc.) light metermeasurement of 2100-2300 μE·m⁻²·s⁻¹. Also shown in FIG. 8, is theabsorption spectrum 804 for Photosystem II (Sugiura M & Inoue Y (1999)Highly Purified Thermo-Stable Oxygen-Evolving Photosystem II CoreComplex from the Thermophilic Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatusHaving His-Tagged CP43, Plant Cell Physiol. 40(12):1219-1231).Photosystem II (PSII) is the link in the photosynthetic pathway mostsusceptible to light induced damage and is the first point of failure inhigh light environments. The characteristic shape of the publishedabsorption spectrum can also be observed in the measured absorptionspectrum of the sample culture 802 (OD₇₅₀ of 0.37), most notably at the˜450 nm, 630 nm and 670 nm peaks as plotted FIG. 8. Absorption in thered region of the spectrum contributes most significantly tophotosynthesis while absorption of lower wavelengths is due to thepresence of molecules not directly involved in the electron transportprocess. Under normal daylight conditions, S. elongatus PSII absorbs 30W/m² of red light (600 nm<λ<700 nm) determined by weighing the spectralpower distribution for daylight by the absorption spectrum of PSII andintegrating across the red portion of the spectrum. In order to deliveran equivalent amount of energy using monochromatic laser light at λ=633nm, the ability of PSII to absorb at that wavelength needs to beconsidered to determine the appropriate corresponding laser power. Inthis case, PSII absorbs approximately 13% of 633 nm light, whichrequires a laser power of 230 W/m² to simulate full daylight conditions.The threshold measured in the direct irradiation experiments, 66 W/m²,therefore suggests that ˜28% of full daylight is the upper limit for ourcultures before severe photoinhibition occurs. This value agrees wellwith the upper bounds of what are considered high-light conditions asreported in the literature.

The light intensity distribution in an evanescent light field variesboth in the plane of the surface and depth-wise into the media.Established theory was applied to describe the evanescent electric fieldintensity and used to correlate field strength to experimental growthresults. FIG. 9A shows the penetration depth 904 (y-axis) of theevanescent light field as a function of incident angle (x-axis). Here,the penetration depth is quantified as the location where the fieldintensity drops e⁻², or 87%, of the peak intensity at the surface. Thegeometry of S. elongatus is shown inset (909) in FIG. 9A for reference,and the dashed line 910 indicates a penetration depth of about 1 μm,which occurs at an angle of incidence of θ_(i2)=θ_(C)+0.074°. As shown,the penetration depth of the evanescent field is a strong function ofincident angle, with values corresponding to the inherent lengthscale ofthe bacterium occurring only near the critical angle (below 0.5° pastcritical).

FIG. 9B shows the predicted evanescent field intensity in the plane, andthe characteristic oval shape for an incident 0.5 mm diameter Gaussianbeam at λ=633 nm. The intensity values indicated correspond to theevanescent light intensity at 1 μm from the glass-media interface, withan incident angle of 62° (θ_(i2)=θ_(c)+0.5°) and penetration depth of400 nm. Based on the above-determined threshold light intensity for thered light employed here (66 W/m², at 633 nm), the expected growthregions can be predicted based on the calculated evanescent fieldintensity. As shown in FIG. 9B, in region 1 the evanescent fieldintensity exceeds the red component of 10% daylight and would beexpected to lead to photoinhibition in a radiant light system. Thisanalysis would predict an elliptical ring pattern of growth, as shown bythe useful portion of the power spectrum, region 2 (green shading incolor diagram). The vertical line plot indicates the useful lightintensity decay with distance. Relatively intense growth is expectednear the inside boundary where useful light intensities are high, andgrowth rates would decay with the light intensity outward. Although thesharpness of the inside edge of the growth profile is an artifact of thethreshold boundary condition, the model provides the predicted patternof growth for a photosynthetic microorganism cultured in this evanescentfield.

Evanescent light based excitation of the culture was performed using theexperimental setup shown in FIG. 6B. Three laser powers were employed (1mW, 0.5 mW, 0.25 mW) with incident laser angles of 62°(θ_(i2)=θ_(c)+0.5°), and total internal reflection was ensured bymeasuring the output intensity. Each experiment was performed intriplicate and the cultures were exposed to the evanescent field for 72hours. FIGS. 10A-C show substantial bacteria growth in response to theevanescent light field at the surface of the glass-media interface. Thegrowth patterns showed the elliptical shape mirroring the evanescentlight field intensity, and delineate the three characteristic regions(photoinhibition, growth, negligible-growth), providing data on theonset of growth under evanescent light. As the laser power was reduced(FIGS. 10A to C), the radial distribution moved inward, consistent withthe change in the light intensity profile. To relate the observed growthto the evanescent field intensity, the images were filtered for greenintensity, scaled along the axis of the beam, and integrated to providegrowth profiles. FIGS. 10D-F show the growth profiles for each lightpower with the corresponding evanescent field intensities plotted at thesurface, 1 μm above the surface, and as a 5 μm average. Due to rapidlydecaying nature of the evanescent field, the surface intensity is muchhigher than that at 1 μm above the surface, which is also similar to theaverage intensity over the first 5 μm (both 1 μm and 5 μm are relevantlengthscales of this rod-shaped bacteria). The power range determinedfrom the direct radiation experiments is shown by the red band 1090 forreference. The onset of growth occurs at a radial location where theevanescent light intensity—as measured at 1 μm and as a 5 μmaverage—drops to a value corresponding to the threshold of 66 W/m²,established from direct radiation experiments. As the total intensity oflight is decreased (FIGS. 10A-C and D-F), the location of the onsetintensity moves inward, and remains consistent with the predicted powercurves. Specifically, the full-width at half maximum, indicating growthonset, is observed at 1 μm intensity levels of 79±10 W/m², and observedat 60±8 W/m² for the 5 μm average light intensity. These results bothdemonstrate growth of photosynthetic bacteria using evanescent light,and provide metrics for their successful cultivation within this uniquelight field.

The growth patterns shown in FIG. 10 show some downbeam bias, that is,growth intensity increases with distance from the laser source. When thecells interact with the evanescent field near the surface, some of thelight is absorbed and utilized, while some of the light is scattered.The light will be scattered preferentially in the direction of the beam.With the present experimental setup, this scattered light wouldcontribute to higher growth rates, and thicker biofilms, on the downbeamside of the ring pattern. This effect was noticed in most cases withdownbeam growth biases of 1%, 8%, and 15% for the 0.25 mW, 0.50 mW, 1.0mW cases plotted in FIG. 10. Although the extent of this bias variedbetween trials, and some trials showed negligible, and even a smallupbeam bias, the effect was in general small and in all cases less than15%. While it is likely that downbeam bias and secondary scatteringeffects influence growth, the relative symmetry of the growth patternsindicates that the downbeam scattering effect is minor.

The additional effect of light penetration depth was investigated usingincident light at larger angles past critical (θ_(C)<θ_(i2)<θ_(C)+5). Atangles greater than 0.5° over critical (as plotted in FIG. 10), however,only faint growth rings were observed. We attribute the lack of growthat larger angles to the change in penetration depth, which diminishesrapidly with increasing incident angle, as shown in FIG. 9A.Specifically, the penetration depth corresponds to the minor-dimensionof the rod-shaped bacterium (1 μm) only at angles less thanθ_(C)+0.074°. These results are thus consistent with the observedevanescent growth patterns in that the penetration depth approached thecell diameter only at small angles away from critical.

We have thus demonstrated an evanescent-light based approach to deliverlight on the lengthscale of cyanobacteria for photosynthesis. Inaddition to demonstrating cultivation of bacteria in the evanescentfield, analysis of the growth pattern provides guidelines fordetermining appropriate evanescent light based exposure conditions fromknown radiant light response. Growth can be predicted based on thesemetrics both with respect to light penetration depth and lightintensity. In the context of photobioreactor technology, this approachto light distribution differs from conventional approaches of bulkirradiation in that it offers a means of controlling the energydelivered to individual cells rather than bulk cultures. Aphotobioreactor architecture based on the embodied evanescent lightdelivery approach could take several forms. For example, one approachcould be to leverage the low cost and relative ubiquity of fiber optictechnology in a reactor with a dense network of bacteria-absorbedfibers, or fabric, in a large media vessel. Paired with recent advancesin the genetic modification of cyanobacteria for direct production offuels such as ethanol or isobutyraldehyde/isobutanol, such a strategypresents new opportunities for solar fuel generation.

FIG. 11A is a schematic cross sectional view of a sheet/slab waveguidephotoreactor 1100 enclosure 1101. As further illustrated in FIG. 11C,the enclosure includes a liquid nutrient inlet 1105, a liquidphotoproduct output 1106, a gas nutrient inlet 1107, and a gasphotoproduct outlet 1108. FIG. 11B shows a plurality of stackedsheet/slab waveguides 1110 and, in detail B, thin film photoactivematerial 1112 deposited on the outer surfaces 1113 of the waveguides,the fluidic nutrient channels 1116 between the stacked waveguides, andthe location of the evanescent field 1120 emanating from the surface ofeach waveguide. The embodied apparatus provides an optofluidic reactorto deliver light to photoactive materials to perform chemical reactionsthat convert a photoactive reagent 1118 (e.g., carbon dioxide and water)into other molecules that may be useful as fuels or chemical feedstocks.These molecules can include carbon monoxide and hydrogen, as well asliquid and gas hydrocarbon molecules such as methane, methanol, formicacid, formaldehyde, ethanol, and larger hydrocarbons including at leastone of butane, heptane and octane using optical energy. Particularlyadvantageous is the ability to produce liquid hydrocarbons like methanolthat are useful as fuels or chemical feedstocks.

Energy to enable the reaction enters the reactor 1100 in the form oflight (1124, FIG. 11C), where it is guided to the reaction sites throughdielectric slab waveguides 1110. These can be either broadband or cansupport specific wavelengths of light optimized for use with aparticular photoactive material 1112. The waveguides can be composed ofglass or ceramic materials, polymer materials, or some combination.Light guided through these waveguides produces an evanescent field 1120at the interface of the waveguide with a reaction channel 1116. Oneskilled in the art will appreciate that the waveguides need not belimited to sheet/slab waveguides, which provide large surface areas forthe photoactive materials in contact with them and the evanescent field;rather, various waveguides such as unclad fibers and multimode fibers orrods, and irregular shaped waveguides, for example, may also be used.

The amount of light leaking out into this evanescent field can beenhanced and controlled through the use of scatterers, which can takethe form of deposited material, patterned through either a printing orlithography process, mechanically etched scatterers, such as thoseproduced by sanding or otherwise mechanically roughening the waveguidesurface, or chemically etched scatterers, produced by treating the(glass) surface with fluoride based compounds and acids.

The photoactive reagent media 1118 in the reaction channel 1116 can beeither liquid, such as water with dissolved carbon dioxide, or in thegas phase containing both gaseous carbon dioxide and water vapor, as influe gas. Gas reagent delivery may be enhanced through the use of hollowfiber membranes. The photoactive element 1112 may be any material thatcan perform the conversion of carbon dioxide using optical energy. Thiscan be in the form of a thin film of a photocatalyst, or a nanoparticlecatalyst either supported on the surface 1113 or fluidized within theevanescent field illuminated region 1120. Many different types ofphotocatalyst materials have been proposed in the literature, and thisreactor configuration is not specific to any one type.

There are several key advantages gained by performing the reaction withan inorganic catalyst as opposed to a photosynthetic organism, asdisclosed herein above. First, while living organisms require arelatively narrow range of temperatures, optical intensities, andsolution environments to survive, inorganic catalysts are less sensitiveto these environmental requirements. This allows the reaction to beoperated at higher temperatures and pressures, improving the reactionrates, allowing the possibility of gas phase reactions which extendapplicability to flue gas streams, and improving selectivity for highervalue molecules. It also improves energy utilization with a broadbandinput light source, like sunlight, as photons not used directly areabsorbed as heat in the reactor, providing a secondary energy input tothe reaction. Second, this allows the input optical intensity to behigher and allows for working with higher energy photons in theultraviolet range that can damage living cells. Third, the photocatalystrequires no nutritional input or maintenance when not in use. Fourth,unlike a living organism which must divert energy to performing itsbiological functions, all of the energy input to the catalyst can inprinciple be used in the reaction. Use of an inorganic catalyst alsoremoves the need to work around natural selection pressures that candrive photosynthetic cultures to lower productivities over time. Fifth,inorganic materials are compatible with sterile operating environments,reducing the risk of contamination and the need for treating reactorswith antibiotics, which could have negative environmental impacts.

All references, including publications, patent applications, andpatents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the sameextent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicatedto be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entiretyherein.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in thecontext of describing the invention (especially in the context of thefollowing claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and theplural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted bycontext. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing”are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, butnot limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. The term “connected” is to beconstrued as partly or wholly contained within, attached to, or joinedtogether, even if there is something intervening.

The recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serveas a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate valuefalling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and eachseparate value is incorporated into the specification as if it wereindividually recited herein.

All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable orderunless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted bycontext. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g.,“such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminateembodiments of the invention and does not impose a limitation on thescope of the invention unless otherwise claimed.

No language in the specification should be construed as indicating anynon-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. There isno intention to limit the invention to the specific form or formsdisclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appendedclaims. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover themodifications and variations of this invention provided they come withinthe scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An optofluidic photoreactor, comprising: aphotoreactor enclosure having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet; aplurality of optical waveguides disposed in a spaced relationship in thephotoreactor enclosure, each optical waveguide having an optical inputand characterized by an evanescent optical field confined along an outersurface of each optical waveguide produced by input radiationpropagating in said each optical waveguide; a plurality of fluidicreaction channels formed of the regions intermediate the plurality ofoptical waveguides disposed in spaced relationship in the enclosureadapted to transport a photoactive reagent; and a photoactive materialdisposed substantially within the evanescent field of each opticalwaveguide.
 2. The photoreactor of claim 1, wherein the opticalwaveguides are unclad optical fibers.
 3. The photoreactor of claim 1,wherein the optical waveguides are multi-mode optical fibers or rods. 4.The photoreactor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fluidic reactionchannels are optically-dark in the absence of said evanescent fields. 5.The photoreactor of claim 1, wherein the optical waveguides compriseprism waveguides.
 6. The photoreactor of claim 1, wherein the opticalinput is one of a laser and an LED light input.
 7. The photoreactor ofclaim 1, wherein the optical input is a solar radiation input.
 8. Thephotoreactor of claim 1, further comprising a controller operablyconnected to the photoreactor enclosure.
 9. The photoreactor of claim 1,wherein the optical waveguides are sheet/slab waveguides.
 10. Thephotoreactor of claim 1, wherein the optical waveguides further compriselight scattering characteristics including at least one of a depositedmaterial, a printed or lithographic pattern, and a mechanically orchemically etched surface.
 11. The photoreactor of claim 1, wherein thephotoactive reagent comprises carbon dioxide and water, in liquid and/orgaseous phases.
 12. The photoreactor of claim 1, wherein the photoactivematerial is any material that can perform the conversion of carbondioxide and water into at least one carbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane,methanol, formic acid, formaldehyde, ethanol, and larger hydrocarbonsincluding at least one of butane, heptane and octane using opticalenergy.
 13. The photoreactor of claim 1, wherein the photoactivematerial is a thin film of a photocatalyst.
 14. The photoreactor ofclaim 1, wherein the photoactive material is a nanoparticle catalyst.15. The photoreactor of claim 1, wherein the optical waveguides have anirregular shape.
 16. The photoreactor of claim 1, wherein theoptofluidic photoreactor comprises a dark region and a plurality oflight regions when the waveguides receive an optical input.
 17. Thephotoreactor of claim 1, wherein there is substantially no photoactivematerial disposed or grown outside the evanescent field of each opticalwaveguide.
 18. A method to optically activate a photoactive material ina photoreactor to convert carbon dioxide and water into another moleculethat may be useful as a fuel or a chemical feedstock, comprising:providing a photoreactor that includes a photoreactor enclosure having afluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a plurality of optical waveguidesdisposed in a spaced relationship in the photoreactor enclosure, eachoptical waveguide having an optical input and characterized by anevanescent optical field confined along an outer surface of each opticalwaveguide produced by input radiation propagating in said each opticalwaveguide, a plurality of fluidic reaction channels formed of theregions intermediate the plurality of optical waveguides disposed inspaced relationship in the enclosure adapted to transport a photoactivereagent, and a photoactive material disposed substantially within theevanescent field of each optical waveguide; providing the photoactivereagent including carbon dioxide and water, in liquid and/or gaseousphases, in the fluidic reaction channels; and inputting light having awavelength at which the photoactive material is sensitive to induce aconversion of the photoactive reagent into at least one of carbonmonoxide, hydrogen, methane, methanol, formic acid, formaldehyde,ethanol, and larger hydrocarbons including at least one of butane,heptane and octane.